Randomized trials estimate the average treatment effect within a population of individuals that are eligible, invited, and enrolled in a study. However, decision makers often need evidence that applies to populations beyond those that participated in the trial to inform policies or actions for a different population of individuals – often termed the target population. Emerging methods within the field of epidemiology and causal inference are being developed and applied that combined data from randomized trials with observational data from target populations to enhance the evidence base used to inform decision-making. In this talk, Dr. Lund will provide an overview of the concept of target validity as it relates to decision-making, review some of the methodological approaches currently used to generalize (or transport) estimates of treatment effects from randomized trials to target populations of interest, and discuss several applied examples.
